diff --git a/configs/compat_shim.go b/configs/compat_shim.go
index 79360201e5ed..b645ac89065a 100644
--- a/configs/compat_shim.go
+++ b/configs/compat_shim.go
@@ -107,3 +107,58 @@ func shimIsIgnoreChangesStar(expr hcl.Expression) bool {
 	}
 	return val.AsString() == "*"
 }
+
+// warnForDeprecatedInterpolations returns warning diagnostics if the given
+// body can be proven to contain attributes whose expressions are native
+// syntax expressions consisting entirely of a single template interpolation,
+// which is a deprecated way to include a non-literal value in configuration.
+//
+// This is a best-effort sort of thing which relies on the physical HCL native
+// syntax AST, so it might not catch everything. The main goal is to catch the
+// "obvious" cases in order to help spread awareness that this old form is
+// deprecated, when folks copy it from older examples they've found on the
+// internet that were written for Terraform 0.11 or earlier.
+func warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInBody(body hcl.Body) hcl.Diagnostics {
+	var diags hcl.Diagnostics
+
+	nativeBody, ok := body.(*hclsyntax.Body)
+	if !ok {
+		// If it's not native syntax then we've nothing to do here.
+		return diags
+	}
+
+	for _, attr := range nativeBody.Attributes {
+		moreDiags := warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInExpr(attr.Expr)
+		diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
+	}
+
+	for _, block := range nativeBody.Blocks {
+		// We'll also go hunting in nested blocks
+		moreDiags := warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInBody(block.Body)
+		diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
+	}
+
+	return diags
+}
+
+func warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInExpr(expr hcl.Expression) hcl.Diagnostics {
+	var diags hcl.Diagnostics
+
+	if _, ok := expr.(*hclsyntax.TemplateWrapExpr); !ok {
+		// We're only interested in TemplateWrapExpr, because that's how
+		// the HCL native syntax parser represents the case of a template
+		// that consists entirely of a single interpolation expression, which
+		// is therefore subject to the special case of passing through the
+		// inner value without conversion to string.
+		return diags
+	}
+
+	diags = append(diags, &hcl.Diagnostic{
+		Severity: hcl.DiagWarning,
+		Summary:  "Interpolation-only expressions are deprecated",
+		Detail:   "Terraform 0.11 and earlier required all non-constant expressions to be provided via interpolation syntax, but this pattern is now deprecated. To silence this warning, remove the \"${ sequence from the start and the }\" sequence from the end of this expression, leaving just the inner expression.\n\nTemplate interpolation syntax is still used to construct strings from expressions when the template includes multiple interpolation sequences or a mixture of literal strings and interpolations. This deprecation applies only to templates that consist entirely of a single interpolation sequence.",
+		Subject:  expr.Range().Ptr(),
+	})
+
+	return diags
+}
diff --git a/configs/named_values.go b/configs/named_values.go
index b88f06bf20a9..280b7069284e 100644
--- a/configs/named_values.go
+++ b/configs/named_values.go
@@ -138,10 +138,28 @@ func decodeVariableType(expr hcl.Expression) (cty.Type, VariableParsingMode, hcl
 		str := val.AsString()
 		switch str {
 		case "string":
+			diags = append(diags, &hcl.Diagnostic{
+				Severity: hcl.DiagWarning,
+				Summary:  "Quoted type constraints are deprecated",
+				Detail:   "Terraform 0.11 and earlier required type constraints to be given in quotes, but that form is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Terraform. To silence this warning, remove the quotes around \"string\".",
+				Subject:  expr.Range().Ptr(),
+			})
 			return cty.String, VariableParseLiteral, diags
 		case "list":
+			diags = append(diags, &hcl.Diagnostic{
+				Severity: hcl.DiagWarning,
+				Summary:  "Quoted type constraints are deprecated",
+				Detail:   "Terraform 0.11 and earlier required type constraints to be given in quotes, but that form is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Terraform. To silence this warning, remove the quotes around \"list\" and write list(string) instead to explicitly indicate that the list elements are strings.",
+				Subject:  expr.Range().Ptr(),
+			})
 			return cty.List(cty.DynamicPseudoType), VariableParseHCL, diags
 		case "map":
+			diags = append(diags, &hcl.Diagnostic{
+				Severity: hcl.DiagWarning,
+				Summary:  "Quoted type constraints are deprecated",
+				Detail:   "Terraform 0.11 and earlier required type constraints to be given in quotes, but that form is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Terraform. To silence this warning, remove the quotes around \"map\" and write map(string) instead to explicitly indicate that the map elements are strings.",
+				Subject:  expr.Range().Ptr(),
+			})
 			return cty.Map(cty.DynamicPseudoType), VariableParseHCL, diags
 		default:
 			return cty.DynamicPseudoType, VariableParseHCL, hcl.Diagnostics{{
diff --git a/configs/provider.go b/configs/provider.go
index 30a0629405da..17754a669d34 100644
--- a/configs/provider.go
+++ b/configs/provider.go
@@ -27,7 +27,17 @@ type Provider struct {
 }
 
 func decodeProviderBlock(block *hcl.Block) (*Provider, hcl.Diagnostics) {
-	content, config, diags := block.Body.PartialContent(providerBlockSchema)
+	var diags hcl.Diagnostics
+
+	// Produce deprecation messages for any pre-0.12-style
+	// single-interpolation-only expressions. We do this up front here because
+	// then we can also catch instances inside special blocks like "connection",
+	// before PartialContent extracts them.
+	moreDiags := warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInBody(block.Body)
+	diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
+
+	content, config, moreDiags := block.Body.PartialContent(providerBlockSchema)
+	diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
 
 	provider := &Provider{
 		Name:      block.Labels[0],
diff --git a/configs/resource.go b/configs/resource.go
index d63fff4a4236..4d5506e293f7 100644
--- a/configs/resource.go
+++ b/configs/resource.go
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ func (r *Resource) ProviderConfigAddr() addrs.ProviderConfig {
 }
 
 func decodeResourceBlock(block *hcl.Block) (*Resource, hcl.Diagnostics) {
+	var diags hcl.Diagnostics
 	r := &Resource{
 		Mode:      addrs.ManagedResourceMode,
 		Type:      block.Labels[0],
@@ -85,7 +86,15 @@ func decodeResourceBlock(block *hcl.Block) (*Resource, hcl.Diagnostics) {
 		Managed:   &ManagedResource{},
 	}
 
-	content, remain, diags := block.Body.PartialContent(resourceBlockSchema)
+	// Produce deprecation messages for any pre-0.12-style
+	// single-interpolation-only expressions. We do this up front here because
+	// then we can also catch instances inside special blocks like "connection",
+	// before PartialContent extracts them.
+	moreDiags := warnForDeprecatedInterpolationsInBody(block.Body)
+	diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
+
+	content, remain, moreDiags := block.Body.PartialContent(resourceBlockSchema)
+	diags = append(diags, moreDiags...)
 	r.Config = remain
 
 	if !hclsyntax.ValidIdentifier(r.Type) {
diff --git a/configs/testdata/valid-files/references.tf.json b/configs/testdata/valid-files/references.tf.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3fe7e0afff34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/testdata/valid-files/references.tf.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "//": "The purpose of this test file is to show that we can use template syntax unwrapping to provide complex expressions without generating the deprecation warnings we'd expect for native syntax.",
+  "resource": {
+    "null_resource": {
+      "baz": {
+        "//": "This particular use of template syntax is redundant, but we permit it because this is the documented way to use more complex expressions in JSON.",
+        "triggers": "${ {} }"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/configs/testdata/valid-files/variable-type-quoted.tf b/configs/testdata/valid-files/variable-type-quoted.tf
deleted file mode 100644
index 15db803f23b0..000000000000
--- a/configs/testdata/valid-files/variable-type-quoted.tf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-variable "bad_type" {
-    type = "string"
-}
diff --git a/configs/testdata/warning-files/redundant_interp.tf b/configs/testdata/warning-files/redundant_interp.tf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..07db23b8c6ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/testdata/warning-files/redundant_interp.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# It's redundant to write an expression that is just a single template
+# interpolation with another expression inside, like "${foo}", but it
+# was required before Terraform v0.12 and so there are lots of existing
+# examples out there using that style.
+#
+# We are generating warnings for that situation in order to guide those
+# who are following old examples toward the new idiom.
+
+variable "triggers" {
+  type = "map" # WARNING: Quoted type constraints are deprecated
+}
+
+provider "null" {
+  foo = "${var.triggers["foo"]}" # WARNING: Interpolation-only expressions are deprecated
+}
+
+resource "null_resource" "a" {
+  triggers = "${var.triggers}" # WARNING: Interpolation-only expressions are deprecated
+
+  connection {
+    type = "ssh"
+    host = "${var.triggers["host"]}" # WARNING: Interpolation-only expressions are deprecated
+  }
+
+  provisioner "local-exec" {
+    single = "${var.triggers["greeting"]}" # WARNING: Interpolation-only expressions are deprecated
+
+    # No warning for this one, because there's more than just one interpolation
+    # in the template.
+    template = " ${var.triggers["greeting"]} "
+
+    # No warning for this one, because it's embedded inside a more complex
+    # expression and our check is only for direct assignment to attributes.
+    wrapped = ["${var.triggers["greeting"]}"]
+  }
+}
diff --git a/configs/testdata/warning-files/variable_type_quoted.tf b/configs/testdata/warning-files/variable_type_quoted.tf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9201ba62eb72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/testdata/warning-files/variable_type_quoted.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+variable "bad_string" {
+  type = "string" # WARNING: Quoted type constraints are deprecated
+}
+
+variable "bad_map" {
+  type = "map" # WARNING: Quoted type constraints are deprecated
+}
+
+variable "bad_list" {
+  type = "list" # WARNING: Quoted type constraints are deprecated
+}